wild beauty
From deep in the parterre cellar, a glimpse of a long ago Met Hoffmann.
Vina Bovy as Antonia
“Elle a fui, la tourterelle”
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN {54}
Offenbach-Barbier/CarréMetropolitan Opera House
January 23, 1937 Matinee BroadcastLES CONTES D’HOFFMANN {55}
Hoffmann…………….René Maison
Olympia……………..Vina Bovy
Giulietta……………Vina Bovy
Antonia……………..Vina Bovy
Stella………………Vina Bovy
Lindorf……………..Lawrence Tibbett
Coppélius……………Lawrence Tibbett
Dappertutto………….Lawrence Tibbett
Dr. Miracle………….Lawrence Tibbett
Nicklausse…………..Irra Petina
Andrès………………Angelo Badà
Cochenille…………..Angelo Badà
Pitichinaccio………..Angelo Badà
Frantz………………Angelo Badà
Luther………………Arnold Gabor
Nathanael……………George Rasely
Hermann……………..Wilfred Engelman
Spalanzani…………..Louis D’Angelo
Schlemil…………….Norman Cordon
Crespel……………..Louis D’Angelo
Mother’s Voice……….James JordenConductor……………Maurice Abravanel
Nebby dreams of the day she could sing this piece this beautifully…
I thought Netrebko did sing it beautifully. I was actually quite stunned at the dress rehearsal. In addition, her French in this aria was really quite good, the line was clean, the dynamic markings respected. I also think this piece speaks to her strengths as a singer.
Lindoro, i am curious to know what about Netrebko’s interpretation was not beautiful to your ear. I wish to learn from you what I did not hear…, please.
The beauty of Nebby’s interpretation is her voice; that’s it.
Her French was muffled and unidiomatic. Now, in her defense, knowing how hard I had to work at French, idiomatic might be too high a standard. That been said, the words were swallowed and her diction poor.
On the webcast night, she sounded like she was about to sing the entire aria on Ahh. This might be a result of what people are quickly calling the new voice. To be honest, I don’t hear a new voice, I hear the same voice now farther away from the mask and more swallowed. This might make for a bigger sound (and more plush) but it does not make for an easy way to spit the words out to the audience.
Now, I might agree with you on the fact that the piece speaks to her strengths as a singer; but as a complete performance (diction, text delivery, etc) she is not quite there yet.
I am surprised at the amount of very knowledgeable people who are still trapped in the Nebby altar. Yes, the voice is beautiful, that’s undeniable, but she is getting away with the same things Caballe is criticized for, and she doesn’t have half of Caballe’s vocal attributes.
Excuses continue to be made about less than stellar musicality, swallowed words, uninterested attitude towards what is going on on the page, lack of ability to sing her chosen repertoire, lack of a trill, etc. These are things that are continuously criticized in Caballe’s performances (rightfully so) but are not criticized in Nebby’s performances; or are covered under the but she is so {attach your preferred adjective here} it makes you forget all the imperfections.
I usually think Anna sings in Netrebkeeze. I did not this time. Having spent years in France , and having cringed through the Netrebko French in Romeo et Juliette, I was expecting a healthy dose of Netrebkeeze in Hoffmann as well. I understood every word she sang, which was quite a shocker to me.
That her production is too far back and swallowed, I agree. However, in this case, I thought her diction was just fine. Certainly a lot better than Gubanova’s, or Lindsey’s.
I really think this may be her role to own for a few years.
If she gets it under her skin, absolutely. I thought she was the best of the female singers in that broadcast BY FAR.
At the same time, I know it is work in progress and I hope she doesn’t fall on the trap of thinking that this is all she can achieve with the role and we get repeated performances of a half baked attempt.
There is still much to be done and learned for her to be the Antonia we all know she can be. The base work is there and this performance showed much promise, but I will not go further than that.
French is my mother tongue, and I also found Netrebko vastly improved from her previous outings – apart from the Juliette I saw her in Manon in Vienna, and she was very far from idiomatic then. She looked amazing (that was B.T. – Before Thiago).
Nebby does not have the taste to generate
such a dream! I am sure she thinks she is just
fine; after all one performance will pay for
a lot of shopping at Henri Bendel or Bergdorf
Goodman!
Viva Bovy!
Just a little follow up on Netrebko’s Hoffmann appearance:
to whoever was saying that she sings in Netrebko-ese, and others who criticized her french -- And for the old bozo I sat next to who insisted that she was botching the whole thing..
what, precisely, is SO bad about this?
in the words of Audrey Hepburn to Cary Grant in “Charade” :
“You know what’s wrong with you?…………..
…..absolutely nothing!”
What a treat, and new to me.
From a Naxos bio: A native of Ghent the lyric-soprano Vina Bovy (Johanna Pauline Bovi, 1900-1983) worked in a cigarette factory to finance her vocal studies. Her professional operatic début in Ghent in 1919 in Hansel und Gretel was followed by a three-year stint at the Brussels Monnaie. In 1925 she made her first appearance at the Opéra-Comique as Manon and until 1939 her rôles at that theatre included Rosina, Mimì in Bohème and Leila in Les pêcheurs de perles. She sang at the Paris Opéra during the 1935-1939 seasons and again in 1947, as Gilda in Rigoletto. She made her début at the Colón in Buenos Aires in 1927 and was first heard at the Met in La traviata in 1936.”
She sang all four soprano roles in Hoffman, too.
Her tomb stone says: “Ik ken een lied – mijn hart vergeet u niet,” words from the last song she sang on stage. She had caused a famous riot with that song the first time she sang it, in Oostende, in 1929. That was the first time someone sang in Dutch on the stage of the Kursaal. The French speaking upper ten thousand were so shocked they left the room in protest.
Dank U for the little story. It surprises me only slightly.
“From a Naxos bio: A native of Ghent the lyric-soprano Vina Bovy (Johanna Pauline Bovi, 1900-1983) worked in a cigarette factory to finance her vocal studies.”
A similar irony of our own age is that the early career of Ann Sofie von Otter was furthered by her victory in a competition sponsored by Benson and Hedges (with the finals held at Covent Garden!).
Lovely random fact! Thanks.
This performance marks the first time one singer did all four roles at the Met. It was also Bovy’s only Met Hoffmann. This is certainly a performance of great charm–one would like to hear the whole broadcast.
Bovy also sang Antonia on the 1948 Cluytens recording–the first complete Hoffmann on disc.
The performance can be found in the Naxos historical catalogue. René Maison is Hoffmann and L. Tibbett sings the 4 nemesis. Irra Petina is Nicklausse. Excellent performance, although I am no fan of Maison vocal production.
maven, thanks for the tip, I will look for that Cluytens disc.
the naxos historical item might not be available in the US. I have excerpted only two small chunks of it and presume to have remained within the bounds of fair use. (Hear that, lawyers?!)
Is there a René in the house? I don’t think I’d ever heard of Mr Maison before, but I rather like that little audio sample. The vibrato is not that unlike Calleja’s, though the sound is more brilliant.
Actually Bovy sings Guilietta. Antonia is the slightly acidulous Geori Boue, and Olympia is Renee Doria. Much to enjoy in that CD performance.
Monty
Maison was a superstar french tenor who did Wagner roles as well as the French romantic rep. Others here surely know more than me. I think he’s a real great. There is a wily, Max Lorenz kind of hysteria to him, but he makes it all look so easy…
Wikipedia suggests that Mr Maison was Belgian rather than French — and stood 6’4″, so more Mr La Tour, perhaps.
I don’t quite get the Max Lorenz reference now, I’m afraid. I know who he was and that his life was a little ambiguous and complicated for all sorts of reasons, but what is the ‘wily hysteria’?
Wily hysteria?
Just listen to him!
Wily hysteria. I’m standing by it.
<snark>What a shame all the singers from the 20th century’s golden age were so dowdy and unpresentable! How grand to live in our current age of sublimely beautiful people on stage!</snark>
And now I have to find this woman on YouTube and present her on my own blog!
Salut Squirrel!
Do the Parterre Cellars stock any fine vintages?
Any of Anatol’s Romanee-Conti?
glad you like! squirrel added a tiny Rene Maison chunk and futzed with the formatting a little, just for fun.